Dr.Aditya Menon

Finding Grace in the face of the HSC

A few weeks on from the HSC and what surprised me most was just how calm and collected she was. Especially given that all her plans hinged on that crucial and generally scary number called the ATAR.

Grace was in a remarkably positive frame of mind and ready for the next phase of her life, come what may. Her plans for a gap year spent mostly in Japan, uni studies and a career based around science and research were all hanging by a thread.

Everything was hanging on that elusive ATAR score, and she would need a big one.

I first met Grace when she was in Year 10 at Glen Innes High School. Working in mental health education, I was there as part of a research team and we were keen to find out about the lives of young people living in a small rural community. We wanted to know about the good things and the challenges that young rural people experience and the factors which make them resilient in the face of them.

We spoke to more than twenty students about their lives, their hopes and aspirations. In time this became a video project and Grace was a perfect candidate: articulate, funny and well informed.

I was curious about the things that made her strong and happy, and what struck me was her turn of phrase:

“When you’re happy, you feel comfortable with your life … it’s not that life is always easy, but mostly you can get through the hard times with a bit of support and the right kind of thinking.”

To me it's a remarkable sentence that pretty much says it all when it comes to mental health.

As you can see in the video we made about Grace (above), paying attention to your health and physical wellness is important, as well as healthy support networks of family and friends. Also, taking time to look at the big picture and to causes and things bigger than yourself can shape your life and give it meaning. For Grace, spirituality provided a source of strength and resilience.

For me, the life of Grace is just like any other life; ordinary and extraordinary all at the same time. A life of ups and downs; of joys, surprises and disappointments.

In the midst of the ordinariness I could see a life that’s instructive; a life loaded up with balance and contentment. It's a way of living that models the kind of physical, social and spiritual capital we all can access for great mental health.

Bruce Winter works with schools across New England North West NSW to promote mental health and wellbeing as part of his role at Hunter New England Health.

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Comments

Jane Curtis

Thanks for making this video Bruce, it was great to watch Grace's story and learn what helped her through the stress of HSC - like the support of family, friends and exercise. I agree, her definition of happiness and mental wellbeing summed it up!